Home » MAKE YOUR POSTS INFECTIOUS: TOP 10 TIPS ON CREATING VIRAL CONTENT

MAKE YOUR POSTS INFECTIOUS: TOP 10 TIPS ON CREATING VIRAL CONTENT

Whether your objective is to rake in tons of profit or become the next social media sensation, creating content that everybody’s going to rave about overnight is of utmost importance. Nothing can drive attention towards you more than posts that are capable of eliciting thousands and thousands of views and reposts.

So the ultimate question is: how does one create content that can go viral? If you think that wooing Lady Luck is the best step to take, then you better think again!

According to the pros, creating viral content calls for the right fusion of brilliant marketing prowess and quality content, which only means that generating buzz is one that requires more than simply being born under a lucky star – although many of those who have mastered the know-how of going viral can make it appear as though that’s all that matters.

Most especially if you are a newcomer to the world of utilizing the internet for revenues or superstardom, it can be very hard to make the heads of your target audience turn towards your direction when their attentions are very much likely to be already undividedly directed towards the competition at present.

Does this mean that you should relinquish your desire to become the owner of a lucrative business or a pop idol whose name everyone knows? Don’t be too quick to surrender!

Creating content that can go viral is what you need to do in order to set the ball rolling. Hit the jackpot and it’s not unlikely for you to be floored by the number of views and shares that your post will be getting – and that’s all that it usually takes in this internet age for your business or fame to grab lots and lots of attention.

So without further ado, here are 10 of the most no-nonsense tips on creating viral content:

TIP #1: MAKE EVERYONE FEEL SMART OR USEFUL

An extremely useful content is something that can spread like wildfire overnight, be it how to make brownies in a mug, lift the mood of a best friend who just went through a nasty breakup, or, well, how to make online posts go viral. In other words, just about anything of value has a higher chance of being shared.

The goal is to make people feel like they are brainier that everybody else – sharing a useful content can make them feel that they are giving a huge chunk of their wit to their online contacts. While something cute is definitely an attention grabber, a post that’s for the advantage of humankind and all that matters can go viral so much faster.

TIP #2: STICK TO THE KISS PRINCIPLE

“Keep it simple, stupid” – that’s what KISS stands for, and it came into being in the 1960s as a design principle, and it’s all about steering clear of unnecessary complexities. If your goal is to gain tons of customers and sales or expand your fandom, then all you have to do is remember the said acronym.

So how can you keep things simple? Easy! You can make your content so much easier to consume by using subheadings, short and concise paragraphs, and bulleted points. Basically, having plenty of white space is something that can make everyone stay on your page and actually check out what it has to say.

TIP #3: IMAGE IS EVERYTHING

Did you know that content that comes with images get nearly twice the number of views than content without any visual aid? This piece of information holds true for social media, blogs and others, say internet marketing authorities.

This does not mean, however, that posting any image that you can get your hands is sure to make your content go viral. Certainly, you have to see to it that it’s something eye-catching – it looks professionally-taken, the colors are bright, etc. Oh, and don’t forget to include a thumbnail that will appear on the snippet and search engine result page.

TIP #4: DON’T GO FOR WRITTEN CONTENT ONLY

Just because you are not a good writer or you don’t have one at your disposal doesn’t mean that coming up with viral content is no longer a possibility. Actually, statistics have shown that infographics – visual representation of data such as chart or a diagram – tends to get more shares than written ones. Lists are runner-ups, followed by videos.

So in other words, if you want to say something but you can’t write it in a nifty manner, then simply say it via a different medium. When it comes to creating a viral content, there are many other things that speak louder than words.

TIP #5: LENGTH MATTERS, DEPENDING ON THE MATTER

Generally speaking, it’s not a good idea for someone who is running a business on the internet or wants to use the web as a stepping stone to reach stardom to test the patience of the target audience. So it’s hard to go wrong if your content is short and sweet, allowing the point to take center stage right away.

However, studies have shown that lengthier blog posts got the more shares across various social media sites. On the other hand, it is found out that up to 80 percent of web surfers watched the entirety of videos that lasted only for half a minute or even less – the number of viewers considerably dropped the longer the video ran.

TIP #6: GET PEOPLE FEELING SOMETHING WITHIN

Stirring up emotions is a very powerful internet marketing tool, allowing you to steal the attention of your target audience and win them over. In fact, it is said that it’s a common feature shared by all viral content out there.

One of the things that work very well is leaving people in awe – a piece of information or photo that’s so surprising is a complete repost enticer. Experts say that it’s also a great idea for you to make people laugh, or at least leave them feeling amused. Even making people angry (but not at you!) can make a post easily go viral in a jiffy.

TIP #7: GO FOR SUPER SHORT URLS

Believe it or not, experts are saying that shorter URLs end up getting 250 percent more clicks that longer ones. Clearly, there is something about lengthy URLs composed of a mishmash of seemingly random letters, numbers and symbols that tend to intimidate people – perhaps cryptic-looking URLs appear untrustworthy.

Does this mean that you should start using URL shorteners if shorter URLs allow for content that people love to click and share? Not really. Actually, URLs that are shortened artificially are commonly mistaken for spam. If your goal is to rake in profit or win lots of screaming fans, then being a spammer should be the last thing on your mind.

TIP #8: LET URLS WORK TO YOUR UTMOST ADVANTAGE

Other than keeping your URLs short without employing URL shorteners, it’s also a fantastic idea for your every URL to be descriptive in nature – something that allows an internet surfer to know a little about the content without having to skim through the 3,000-word blog or 60-second video.

There are a couple of reasons why opting for a descriptive URL can work to the advantage of someone who dreams of getting his or her post to go viral. First, it exudes reliability in a landscape that’s inhabited by crooks and creeps. Second, it instantly grabs the attention of the target audience by letting them have an idea on what the content is all about.

TIP #9: ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

If you want your content to be reposted, then don’t forget to ask for such. Sometimes all it takes for a content to go viral is for the business owner or wannabe celeb to ask for their post to be shared.

The most common way of getting such done is by including the plea in the CTA – that stands for “call to action” which is usually placed at the end of the content, encouraging a reader or viewer to carry out a specific task. According to internet marketing pros, something as simple as placing the word “share” in your CTA can help make the amount of interactions that individuals in cyberspace have with your post go double.

TIP #10: ENSURE A SIMPLIFIED SHARING PROCESS

Requesting for everyone to have your content shared is not enough – you also have to see to it that sharing is made trouble-free. Surely, you don’t want to dishearten people by asking them to do something on your behalf (and definitely in your favor!) and then not giving them the easy means to do so.

Placing a share button at the top or in the CTA at the end of your content can make sharing uncomplicated for your target audience. You may also rely on a plug-in that makes the share button stay put on one side as the reader scrolls up and down, making reposting a task that can be easily done at any given time.

As you can see, making content go viral is not a complicated thing. Keep the above tips in mind and any post of yours is guaranteed to get circulated rapidly in cyberspace. And to set a good example: make sure that you share this post with your family and friends if you find this informative!